What was the name of the first artificial satellite?

• "Sputnik-1" was the first artificial satellite successfully launched and entered Earth's orbit.

Fig: Sputnik 1

• It was the first human-made satellite, The name Sputnik means "traveling companion" in Rassia. 
• The Soviet Union successfully launched it on 4th October,1957.

How was Sputnik 1?

• Diameter: 22.8 inches.
• Weight: 83.6 kg only.
• Sputnik was in the form of a sphere and pressurized with nitrogen.
• The sphere-shaped body of the satellite was equipped with four radio antennas. 
• These made sure that, regardless of the satellite's spin, the radio signals were broadcast equally in all directions. 
• The antennas were in length from 7.9 feet (2.4 meters) for two of them to 9.5 feet (2.9 meters) for the other two.
• Sputnik 1 orbited the Earth for 21 days.
• It took about 98 minutes to orbit the Earth on its elliptical path.

Fig: Elliptical Path

• Sputnik 1's launch didn't go exactly as planned. 
• Due to the booster's failure to reach maximum power during launch, Sputnik's orbit ended up being roughly 310 miles (500 km) lower than intended.
• There was not Solar power source arrangement like modern satellite.
• Till its three silver-zinc batteries ran out, it sent a radio signal down to Earth for three weeks. 
• It remained in orbit for another two months before aerodynamic drag forced it to re-enter the atmosphere on January 4, 1958.

Photo credit: Researchgate                                            Data sources: Nasa Wiki Space